Israeli Consul Invites NYC Mayor to View Oct. 7 Attack Footage
Israel's Consul General in New York, Ofir Akunis, has asked Mayor Zohran Mamdadi to attend a screening of an IDF-produced film about the Oct. 7 Hamas assault.
During a recent address, Ofir Akunis, Israel’s Consul General in New York, extended an official invitation to New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdadi to watch a 47-minute documentary produced by the Israeli Defense Forces that incorporates GoPro video recorded by Hamas fighters on Oct. 7, 2023. Akunis claimed the screening, scheduled on the attack’s third anniversary, would reveal “what the people he supports really did” and might stop the mayor’s “hate and blood libels” against Israel.
He emphasized the film’s purpose to illustrate why Israel feels compelled to defend itself. City Hall has not yet replied to requests for comment. The invitation revives a strained relationship after Mamdadi rescinded the city’s adoption of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s antisemitism definition and declined participation in a recent Israel parade, prompting Akunis to label him a “true hater of the State of Israel.” Left-wing groups, including the Young Democratic Socialists of America, have also planned anti-Zionist rallies outside City Hall for Oct. 7.
Why it matters
The invitation highlights ongoing political tension in New York over Israel-Gaza policy and antisemitism definitions.
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